ICONS

A-to-Z Guide to Greater Cincinnati:
"Best Place to Live in North America"

Marge Schott isn't walking
the dugout these days but
serving her second suspension

Lots of famous people, some infamous

BY RICHARD GREEN
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Still searching your radio dial for Cincinnati's elusive radio station, WKRP?

Well, rest your FM-flipping fingers and repeat after us: It was only a TV sitcom. It was only a TV sitcom.

No, there never was a wacky newshawk named Les Nessman. No Venus Flytrap. Not even a Dr. Johnny Fever.

But what does exist in the Greater Cincinnati region is a bevy of image-makers who help mold the region's identity:

  • Marge Schott: Like her or loathe her, the lifelong Cincinnatian never has failed to make news since taking control of the Reds in 1984. She is serving her second suspension from baseball for racist, offensive and insensitive remarks. Generally, her local supporters don't defend such remarks, but salute her for her warm public regard for children, keeping Reds ticket and concession prices low, and her civic contributions.

  • Sheriff Simon Leis Jr.: Mr. Law and Order of Hamilton County has been stamping out crime, smut and an occasional art show (the Robert Mapplethorpe photography exhibit in 1990) since 1987. The brassy former Marine controls a $37.5 million annual budget that includes helicopters, sleek power boats and an armored vehicle. It's an armory that could make Batman jealous.

  • Ted Berry: One of the first African-American leaders to fight segregation and civil rights injustices in Cincinnati and in the country. He was an adviser to Dr. Martin Luther King and a key player in LBJ's quest to end poverty. Berry led a committee that established the Headstart pre-school program, Legal Services for the needy and the Job Corps.

  • Ted "The Ribs King" Gregory: Napkins and bibs are a must when you visit Gregory's three Montgomery Inn restaurants. How big is the King? On Super Bowl weekend, he serves 15 tons of the barbecued pork beauties. And if you have a hankering, his 1-800-RIBS-USA hotline provides home delivery.

  • Pete Rose: Officially, baseball's all-time hits king now calls Florida home. But his hometown legacy is prevalent. Riverfront Stadium is located on Pete Rose Way. And Pete Rose Drive winds past Western Hills High School, where he graduated in 1960. He and the rest of Cincinnati continue to wait for his Hall of Fame entry.

  • Jim Borgman: It's an early-morning ritual across the Tristate - wake up, pour the Wheaties and turn to The Enquirer's editorial cartoonist's daily snapshot of life in Cincinnati. Borgman has won every major award in his field, including the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in 1991.

  • Erich Kunzel: The snappy conductor of the Cincinnati Pops has been a mainstay for 30 years, selling out Music Hall and landing his recordings at the top of Billboard's charts.

  • Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall: Muggy summer nights. Tall glasses of iced tea. Mosquitos. Reds baseball. Marty and Joe. Need we say more? The Reds radio announcers have been a part of Cincinnati since 1974. Summer without them wouldn't be the same.

  • Dr. Alfred Gottschalk: Wanna be a Reform rabbi? Chances are, you will train at Hebrew Union College, where Gottschalk served as president for 25 years. During his tenure, he ordained the first woman rabbi in 1972, the first reform Rabbi in Israel in 1980 and the first woman to become a rabbi in the state of Israel in 1992. As chancellor, he now serves as the college's ambassador.

  • Patricia Corbett: A child performer turned arts patron of Cincinnati. She heads the Corbett Foundation, which has contributed more than $33 million to the arts, education and scientific research in the last 30 years. Her beneficiaries include historic Music Hall in Over-the-Rhine, the College-Conservatory of Music and 39 opera companies in the United States and Europe.

  • Leslie Isaiah Gaines: With his booming voice and ever-present derby hat, he has earned headlines as a lawyer, Municipal Court judge, evangelist, motivational speaker and writer. Now the "Pied Piper of Peace" also has a talk-radio show where he preaches improved race relations and family ties.

  • Stan Chesley: He's been called the Prince of Torts, the class action specialist with an international reputation for representing the injured, the distressed and the downtrodden. He also is cashing in on that reputation - Forbes estimated his 1994 earnings at $6 million. He's a close pal and major contributor to President Clinton.

  • Oscar Robertson: He was Dr. J, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan a generation ago - all in one uniform. Before he became the fifth all-time scorer in NBA history, he put the University of Cincinnati on the college basketball map. He was the NCAA's player of the year three consecutive seasons in the late 1950s and was the first collegian to lead the nation in scoring for three straight years. He starred for the NBA Cincinnati Royals and teamed with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to win an NBA title with the Milwaukee Bucks. He's the city's elder sports statesman.

  • Still looking for that radio personality fix? Tune in Gary Burbank, the nationally syndicated radio personality whose stinging humor and redneck commentaries have been heard on Tristate radios since 1980. And he's on WLW (700 on your AM dial), not that other Cincinnati station.

Did you know?

Three U.S. presidents started their political careers here: William Henry Harrison, Benjamin Harrison and William Howard Taft.

Famous people born, raised or both in Greater Cincinnati include:

  • Arts/Entertainment

    Theda Bara, actor
    Jim Borgman, cartoonist
    Reggie Calloway, producer/song writer
    Doris Day, singer/actor
    Jim Dine, pop artist
    Frank Duveneck, artist
    Suzanne Farrell, ballet star
    Henry Fillmore, bandmaster
    Charles Fold, gospel singer
    Charles W. Fries, movie executive
    Charles Guggenheim, filmmaker
    Julie Haggerty, actor
    Earl Hamner, writer
    Woody Harrelson, actor
    Libby Holman, singer/actor
    Isley Brothers, rock group
    James Levine, conductor
    Sarah Jessica Parker, actor
    Tyrone Power, actor
    Lee Roy Reams, actor
    Roy Rogers, singer/actor
    John Ruthven, wildlife artist
    Steven Spielberg, movie director
    Tom Wesselman, pop artist
    Andy Williams, singer

  • Business

    Frederick A. Hauck, mineralogist
    Andrew Jergens, CEO
    Charles Keating, financier
    Barney Kroger, founded Kroger Co.
    Carl Lindner, financier
    Ted Turner, broadcasting mogul

  • Law/Politics

    Salmon P. Chase, chief justice
    Benjamin Harrison, 23rd president
    George Hunt Pendleton, senator and "Father of the Civil Service"
    Potter Stewart, Supreme Court justice
    Robert A. Taft, senator

  • Literature

    Nikki Giovanni, poet
    Virginia Hamilton, author
    Andrew Huggins, poet
    Jonathan Valin, mystery novelist

  • Medicine/Science

    Dr. Eslie Asbury, surgeon, writer
    Dr. Helen Iglauer Glueck, research in blood clotting
    Dr. Leon Goldman, "Father of Laser Medicine"
    Dr. O'dell Owens, reproductive endocrinology
    Dr. George Rieveschl, chemist, developed Benadryl
    George Sperti Jr., developed Preparation H

  • Sports

    Walter Alston, baseball Hall of Famer
    Eddie Arcaro, horse racing Hall of Famer
    Jim Bunning, baseball Hall of Famer
    Steve Cauthen, horse racing Hall of Famer
    Ezzard Charles, heayvweight boxing champion
    Dave Cowens, basketball Hall of Famer
    DeHart Hubbard, first African-American to win Olympic gold medal
    Miller Huggins, baseball Hall of Famer
    Ken Griffey Jr., baseball star
    David Justice, baseball star
    Barry Larkin, baseball star
    Jerry Lucas, basketball Hall of Famer
    Darrell Pace, archer, two-time Olympic champ
    Dave Parker, baseball star
    Pete Rose, baseball's all-time hit leader
    Aaron Pryor, boxing Hall of Famer
    Marge Schott, principal owner of the Cincinnati Reds
    Roger Staubach, football Hall of Famer
    Tony Trabert, winner of U.S., Wimbledon, French tennis titles

  • Others

    Dennis Banks. co-founder of American Indian movement
    Charles Manson, mass murderer

People who earned fame while working or living in Cincinnati:

  • Arts/Entertainment

    Annie Oakley, star of Wild West shows
    Kathleen Battle, opera star
    Gary Burbank, radio personality
    Rosemary Clooney, singer/actor
    Jerry Springer, TV show host, former mayor of Cincinnati

  • Business

    Powel Crosley, founded WLW, manufacturer, former owner of the Reds
    John Smale, CEO
    Jayne Baker Spain, first female director of major industrial corporation, Litton Industries
    Marvin Warner, financier

  • Law/Politics

    Stanley Chesley, attorney
    Nathaniel R. Jones
    William Howard Taft, 27th president and chief justice

  • Literature

    Stephen Birmingham, author
    William Holmes McGuffey, author
    Harriet Beecher Stowe, gathered material for Uncle Tom's Cabin while living in Cincinnati for 18 years

  • Medicine/Science

    Dr. Henry Heimlich, developed Heimlich Maneuver
    Dr. Albert Sabin, developed oral vaccine for polio
    Dr. Eugene Saenger, pioneered nuclear medicine

  • Sports

    Johnny Bench, baseball Hall of Famer
    Paul Brown, founder of Cincinnati Bengals
    Joe Morgan, baseball Hall of Famer
    Anthony Munoz, NFL great
    Oscar Robertson, basketball Hall of Famer
    Jack Twyman, basketball Hall of Famer

  • Other

    Cardinal Joseph L. Bernadin, former archbishop
    Daniel Carter Beard, co-founder of Boy Scouts
    Donald Harvey, nurse aide admitted killing 24 patients
    Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, civil rights leader
    Dr. Isaac Mayer Wise, founder of Reform Judaism
    The Who, 11 fans of the rock group died in a crush at their Cincinnati concert in 1981